The Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) has Proposed new licensing costs for satellite internet providers such as Starlink, etc. While the CA proposal has yet to be implemented, once it becomes law, affected providers will have to pay a one-time fee of Sh15 million for 15 years and an annual gross fee of 0.4%.
According to the Authority, “This change aims to ensure technology neutrality and allow investors to land signals using any technology,”
This new proposal will mean that providers will now have to pay ten times more than the previous licensing fee, which was $12,302. While already established providers such as Starlink may still survive, these new changes will have much higher repercussions for smaller companies trying to gain a portion of the country’s internet connectivity market share, limiting their growth.
Some of the Popular satellite internet providers in Kenya include Starlink, with a market share of 0.5, compared to Safaricom, the leading provider in the country, with a share of 36%. Starlink entered Kenya in mid-2023, and since then, it has had at least 8,500 users by the start of January 2025.
However, its growth has also faced opposition from local providers such as Safaricom, who claim that if Starlink is not regulated to operate its expansion, it would pose security risks such as illegal connections. Safaricom had tried to challenge Starlink’s presence in the country by writing a letter to the CA but was rejected.
In addition, William Ruto (President of Kenya) has also defended Starlink’s presence in Kenya in the past by saying it would promote healthy competition from local ISPS.
NEWS: 🇰🇪 Kenya President William Ruto explained yesterday how Elon Musk's @Starlink has created competition, causing existing players like Safaricom to provide better services.
“I have my CEO for Safaricom – Sometimes he's not very happy with me for bringing other characters… pic.twitter.com/b9MzSMTReZ
— ALEX (@ajtourville) September 24, 2024Implications of This Proposal
If this proposal from Kenya’s communication authority is actually realized, it could be a game changer in Kenya’s Internet ecosystem. The Likes of Safaricom, who had previously tried to limit the operations of Starlink in Kenya, would definitely welcome the move, but at the same time, this could seriously stifle innovation in Kenya’s internet tech scene, since a large percentage of Rural parts of the country do not have access to an internet connection.
At the time of Publishing the article, the CA proposals were currently open to Public discussions as they sought to ensure a balance between international and local ISPs in the internet space
